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"Why do you smell like skeezeball?" Caroline asked with her lip turned up in disgust at her best friend settled into the passenger seat of her Volkswagen beetle.

Bonnie sighed heavily, shaking her head at her wasted effort.

She had anticipated her inquisitive friend might be able to smell Damon on her, which is why she took a long hot shower at his house where she scrubbed everything, even under her fingernails before leaving the boardinghouse to walk back through the woods to get the scent of nature on her skin. And she even took the effort of saging herself along with her home mere minutes before Caroline showed up for their dress quest, but she should have known better. Caroline had the nose of a bloodhound.

Bonnie hesitated, staring into Caroline's surprised blue eyes.

"We were together….last night," She said, sounding defeated as she awaited the onslaught of rightful anger from Caroline.

But Caroline playfully slapped Bonnie's arm and howled, "BONNIE BENNETT! I should probably take you to the free clinic to get tested before we go dress hunting, "She said, smiling at Bonnie who had put on her sunglasses even though it had started to drizzle on to the windshield and hood of the car.

"It was a one-time thing, it won't happen again."

Caroline reversed the car and laughed, "I owe Matt a hundred bucks now."

Bonnie's mouth flew open into a perfect 'o', "Oh my god, I can't believe my best friends were betting on my sexual life like some kind of sport."

"Oh it wasn't just us, Stefan and Tyler were in on it too."

Bonnie shot a look at Caroline who threw up her hands like to 'say shoot me'.

"I just thought you of all people would never fall for that asshole."

And Bonnie winced behind her shades because there was a time, a time not that long ago when she would have wholeheartedly agreed with Caroline. And because she doesn't feel how she used to about him, especially in the presence of this blonde vampire who she loves so very much, well, she feels like a traitor.

Caroline reached for her iPhone and plugged the cable in to play pop music to drown out the silence in the car while they drove into town.

But Bonnie's ancestors talked over the bouncy beat, taking a turn at the stand to state their position.

"Preach Carol!"

"Her name is Caroline, Janey,"

"Why we care what this vampire heifer think again?"

"Because this is Bonnie's closest friend."

"He was absolutely horrible to Caroline. Don't forget what he did to her, Bonnie."

"Please, she just mad 'cause he hit that and bounced."

"I can't with you."

As the silver beetle turned left onto the picturesque main street of Mystic Falls, Bonnie decided to change the conversation to a happier subject.

Her cheeks dimpled into a smile, "Sooooooo, let's forget about Damon for a minute because I have something very important to share with you, " She said, placing her hand over Caroline's as they sat in the car parked in front of the first boutique on the list.

"More important than being in a relationship with our sworn enemy," Caroline quipped, her joke failing to hide she was a tad hurt.

And the drizzle outside turned into a heavy down pour while Bonnie swallowed a broken promise.

She rubbed her palms on her bare legs and sighed. "I found a way to cure you," She stated quickly, going into details, "I got the rope, and I slit my own hand and used my own blood, and I have the full moon tonight, and the-

"You what?"

When Bonnie had imagined herself giving the news to her vampire best friend that she would be giving her her human life back, she had expected a lot of joy emanating from her blonde little head. She didn't think she would cut her off and glare at her like she was crazy.

"What's wrong? I thought you would be thrilled?"

Caroline snorted and shook her head, reaching for her purse in the back seat, her hair shrouding her face as she said. "What's wrong is that you made a decision about my life and you hadn't asked me how I felt about it."

"I thought you hated being a vampire," Bonnie said, her voice raising.

"No, that's Elena," Caroline said, opening her car door, "Come on, we are already late for our appointment."

"I can't with this broad. She's too ditzy."

"Yeah 'cause she's gonna love immortality after a hundred years when everyone she has loved is dead."

"Caroline Forbes has grown into a resilient woman," Sheila intervened, "This is her choice; Bonnie will respect it."

Bonnie watched Caroline stomp away from the car to the boutique entry and she realized Caroline was right, she hadn't considered that she might want to stay a vampire. And as she exited the car slowly, she also realized that she had been so consumed in her own world that she had missed the part where Caroline had toughed out the growing pains of being a vampire and now she was actually thriving.

Bypassing the waiting salesclerk holding an armful of dresses, Bonnie made her way to the row of dressing rooms and knocked on the only one she could see was occupied.

"Go away."

Bonnie knocked harder and then thought, what the hell. She quickly flung open the door and stuffed herself into the small dressing room with a half-dressed and teary-eyed Caroline.

And on impulse, without any words, she wrapped her arms around the bra-clad girl and whispered, "I'm sorry."

"I know, I'm sorry too, "Caroline sobbed, her tears wetting Bonnie's shoulder, "I hate fighting with you."

The blonde pulled herself up from the petite brunette, and smiled, smudging her face red as she wiped away her blood tears.

Bonnie opened one of the glossy boxes stacked on the stool in dressing room with them and tore a long sliver of tissue covering a lacy gown.

"I love you," She said handing the crinkly pink paper to Caroline.

Caroline snorted, "I love you too."

A knock from the outside came with a stern voice, "Is everything alright in there?"

The girls giggled and asked the voice to bring Bonnie's dresses to the same room.

And as Bonnie tried on all of the dresses Caroline had pulled for her, the pair laughed and laughed, and Bonnie let the fight dissipate, and she began to feel light, and then there was a brief pang of loss when she remembered there had been three of them the last time she had tried on evening gowns.

Zipping up the back of a sleek red gown, Caroline eyed Bonnie and smiled, "This is the one."

"Are you sure? You don't think I look like I'm cosplaying? Like I'm trying to look like Jessica Rabbit?"

Caroline shook her head, "Not at all. You look elegant and alluring."

"Elegant and alluring, huh?" Bonnie snorted, running her hands down the sides of her curves, "I guess I'll take it."

After the purchasing of their dresses, Bonnie persuaded Caroline to get ice-cream, despite Caroline going on and on about calories and that studies had shown that ice cream was linked to cancer.

"You can't gain weight and its more likely that you will die from a stake than cancer."

Licking her vanilla cone, she smiled, and sat down at the window seat of the ice cream parlor, "Old habits die hard."

The rain outside had died down. And as the clouds opened up for the sun to shine through, Bonnie opened up her heart to Caroline.

"If you want me to hate him, I can't." She stated as a matter of fact, "But you don't have to worry about me falling for him. He's a vamp, I'm a witch, it's a wrap. And bigger than that is that I love you, and if hearing about my friendship with Damon hurts you, then the least I can do is keep him separate from our friendship, and fry his brain for you whenever you like."

"Hear, hear." Caroline lifted up her ice cream cone in agreeance. "And I appreciate you for saying that Bonnie, but you and I both know you have already fallen for one, Damon Salvatore. And that's okay, I understand. You know why I have my reservations about him, but he's different with you. I've been watching you two for some time now. Everyone has."

"I never meant for this to happen." Bonnie said meekly, holding her dripping ice cream cone, not knowing if what she had admitted was for Caroline or for herself.

Caroline laughed and the sun shone on everything in the parlor at that moment, blinding Bonnie momentarily.

"That's the thing about love."

Author's Note

The finale pissed me off so I decided to write. Thank you for reading.